General pastry recipe

Recipe : Short crust Pastry

2 and 1/8 cup of plain or all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup cold butter, diced

1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 450oF

Grease and flour two baking sheets or one large one if you have it.

To make the pastry:

place the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and add the chopped up cold butter.

Use your hands to rub the flour and fat together to create a breadcrumb like texture. Try to incorporate all the fat as much as possible, breaking down any large pieces.

Add the water to the mixture and stir in with a knife until it begins to come together, then use your hands to squeeze it together and form a ball. (Try to handle the mixture only as necessary - don't overwork and try to keep everything cool).

When the ball of dough is mixed well enough to leave the bowl clean, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.